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Enhancing Energy Development on Tribal Lands: Challenges and Opportunities

The GAO reports reveal significant barriers to energy development on Tribal and Indian lands, highlighting poor management by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Factors such as inadequate staffing, slow lease approvals, and lengthy regulatory reviews have hindered tribal autonomy and economic growth. By addressing these challenges, tribes could harness their renewable energy potential—specifically in wind, solar, and other sources—leading to increased income and job creation for members. A commitment to reform within federal programs is essential for sustainable development in Tribal communities.

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Enhancing Energy Development on Tribal Lands: Challenges and Opportunities

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  1. GAO’s Work on Energy and Economic Development on Tribal and Indian Lands

  2. Renewable Energy Potential on Tribal and Indian Lands

  3. Wind Power Potential on Tribal and Indian Lands

  4. CSP Potential on Tribal and Indian Lands

  5. PV Potential on Tribal and Indian lands

  6. Indian Energy: Poor management By BIA Has Hindered Development of energy on Indian Lands GAO-15-502 • BIA does not have enough staff with the right skills in the right places to perform the tasks needed to assist tribes that choose to develop their energy resources. • BIA does not measure how long it takes to approve leases, issue permits, or develop communitization agreements. However these processes take far longer for BIA than for similar processes on federal, state, or private lands. • As a result, tribes and their members have missed huge opportunities to generate income from energy development and to create good jobs for tribal members.

  7. Indian Programs: Interior Should Address factors Hindering Tribal Administration of Federal Programs GAO-19-87 In 2019, we found, among other things, • Inadequate Information Sharing By Interior • Delays in Disbursing Contract and Compact Funds • Lengthy Reviews of Proposed Tribal leasing Regulations All of these factors are barriers to greater tribal self-governance. Moreover, delayed or missed economic development is also a deterrent because self-governance tribes often must supplement federal funds when taking over administration of federal functions.

  8. Programs that Serve Tribes and Their Members on GAO’s High Risk List • Indian Health Service • Bureau of Indian Education • BIA’s Administration of Energy and Economic Development Programs and Activities

  9. High Risk Criteria and Federal Progress To-Date

  10. Leadership Challenges at Interior and HHS

  11. What Remains To Be Done? • Identify root causes of problems • Transform management to address these root causes • Demonstrate steady progress in improving outcomes of programs • Demonstrate a lasting commitment at the highest levels of management to ensure continued improvement

  12. Recent and Coming Changes at GAO • Expanding Capacity To Evaluate Federal Programs Serving Tribes and Their Members • Plan to Form and Work with a Tribal Advisory Group • Created an Issue Area Devoted To Tribal issues • Better Coordination Across GAO Teams

  13. Introducing My Colleagues at GAO and Taking Questions or Comments

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